Performing artist Nancy Cook plays at Trillium Cafe Friday

Guitarist and singer/songwriter Nancy Cook returns to Hood River Friday when she plays at the Trillium Cafe from 8 to 11 p.m. There is no cover charge for the show, in which Cook presents an evening of diverse acoustic music, mixing original material from her three most recent releases with new material from her upcoming CD to be released next spring.

Music has been a way of life for Cook, dating to her roots in Florida and continuing after she made Boulder, Colo., her home in 1979. Initially, she split her energy between solo performances and several different dance bands, ranging from country-rock to rhythm and blues. In the late 1980s, she returned to her acoustic roots and began to focus more on writing her own songs. Recently, she’s begun to include occasional covers of her favorite influential artists into her shows — including Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell.

Cook has opened for such diverse national acts as Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Leo Kottke and Warren Zevon.